Tea-kettle



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES E. COATS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TEA-KETTLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,635, dated April 2, 1889.

^ Application filed lFebruary 21, 1888, Serial No. 264,769., (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES YE. CoA'rs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,` have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tea-Kettles, of which the following is a specification. Y p The object of my invention is to construct a tea-kettle intowhich the water may be introduced at any time without danger of burning the hands, and which shall also be provided with an automatic signal to indicate when the water is getting low; and the invention consists in the features and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed. In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical sectional view of atea-'kettle having a bent spout containing my improvements; Fig. 2, avertical sectional view taken in line ,fr .fr of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a vertical sectional view of a part of a tea-kettle having astraight spout, particularly intended to show a slight modification in construction or operation of the iioat.

A is the tea-kettle; B, the ioat inside the kettle; C, a fiat piece on'the hanger above the, fioat-ball; D, the water-inlet tube, and E the whistle.

My improved tea-kettle is provided with a tube extending down from' the top any distance desired, but preferably to a point near the bottom, through which it may be filled with water. This tube may be placed at any convenient point; but I prefer to -place it just behind the handle and at the side of the kettle farthest from the spout. The upper end of this tube may be closed in any suitable manner; but I prefer to close it by a lid or cap provided with a whistle.

Inside of the kettle, at any convenient point above the spout-opening, but preferably at or near the top of the kettle, I hinge or otherwise loosely fasten a device whichI call a fioat This iioat consists, essentially, of a suitable ball, oval-shaped or otherwise, made of zinc or other light material, so as to be of less speciiic gravity, and therefore capable of floating on the water, this ball being secured to the lower end of the hanger, which is fastened above the spout-opening.

When used in a tea-kettle having a bent spout, or a spout extending out from a point a considerable distance above the bottom, it will generally be found advisable to secure a suitable fiat piece to the hanger above the oat-ball, and in such position that when the float is down the iiat piece will iit over and close the spout-opening; but when the oat is used in a tea-kettle having a straight spout, or a spout extending out from a point near the bottom, this flat piece may be dispensed with, and the iioat-ball itself allowed to iit over and close the spout-opening when the water gets low.

In operation, the water being poured in, the oat rises to the top, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. l, and this of course leaves the spout open. As the water gets low, however, the iioat gradually resumes its normal position and, when the water has receded sufficiently, rests against the side of the kettle and closes its spout-opening.

In kettles having spouts extending out from a point some distance above the bottom the flat piece above the float is preferably employed to close the spout-opening; but when the spout extends out from a point near the bottom of the kettle the float-ball itself is preferably employed for this' purpose. However, the spout-opening may be closed by the iioat in any way found convenient, andv this, too, with or without the flat piece or other additional-features. The water in the kettle having now receded to a point below the lower end of the water-inlet tube, the closing of the spout-opening immediately causes the whistle at the upper end of such tube to blow or make a noise, so as to indicate that the water is getting low in the kettle. This spout being opened, the kettle may be refilled without removing its lid or otherwise exposing the hand of the operator to the danger of being burned by steam blowing out, as is now often the case.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit ofk my invention. For instance, the iioat, whistle, and water-inlet tube may be made in different ways, and the covering for the tube may be in the form of a lid, cap,

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or otherwise, as found most convenient, or t any other suitable form of signal or alarm may be used in place of the whistle. This being the case, I of course do not wish to be float which closes the spout-opening, a steamL exit tube extending downward near one side of the kettle to a point below the spout-opening, and a signaling device to indicate when the water has receded to a certain predetermined point, substantially as described.

CHARLES E. COATS. Witnesses:

EPHRAIM BANNING, G. P. LINDSLEY. 

